I am part of a wonderfully diverse movement of people of all ages, ethnicities, races, faiths, and political backgrounds.

We are secular and religious; Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, and many other; of all ages, economic classes, and political backgrounds; we are united by a commitment to justice and truth, opposition to bigotry, and determination to end the violence and oppression against Palestinians and others that generates war and profound tragedy throughout the Middle East and far beyond.

Please note:

For my main articles and the most important information, please go to the If Americans Knew website. Also, we post a great deal of information on our Facebook page. In addition to those, however, now and then I like to tell people about behind-the-scenes happenings, random information that I've stumbled across but not written an article about, etc. and so I place these on this blog.

I am NOT the British historian

As I write above, I am not the author of books about British history. That Alison Weir, who is English, tells me that she is receiving harrassment and threats because some people mix her up with me. These are causing her extreme concern and forcing her to end her book tours in the U.S. PLEASE, ISRAEL PARTISANS, LEAVE HER ALONE. If you must threaten to kill someone because you wish facts about Israel-Palestine to remain hidden, I'm the one you mean.

Wikipeda distortions

Everyone should be aware that Wikipedia can be edited by anonymous individuals who may or may not have a political agenda. Since Israel partisans work to dominate Wikipedia entries regarding Israel, the information on Wikipedia may be skewed. Please see "A pro-Israel group's plan to rewrite history on Wikipedia" for more on this type of thing.

My Book...

"Prodigiously documented... Alison Weir must be highly commended for throwing such a brilliantly hard light on the relationship between the United States and Israel. I hope this marvelous book gets all the attention it deserves." – Ambassador Andrew Killgore, Publisher, Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.

"This provocative book documents a history that is essential in understanding today's world. Scholarly, yet readable, it is a must for all Americans." – Senator James Abourezk, CounterPunch

Of Particular Note...

Why?

Daily news, commentary, and analysis

History

Attack on the USS Liberty

Rachel Corrie

Nonviolence Movement of Palestinians and Israelis

My articles (Go to this link and scroll down to see all my articles on Israel-Palestine)

Previous blogs

We used to have daily news site featuring a diverse compendium of reports on Israel-palestine, focusing largely on news that is unreported or under-reported by US media. Now, however, this information is on the If Americans Knew website. We also had a site containing daily commentary and analysis, and another blog that periodically deconstructs AP coverage on Israel-Palestine. However, we haven't had the time to update these in recent years.

Attack on The USS Liberty

Because so few people know about Israel's extremely ruthless attack on the US Navy ship, the USS Liberty, I'd like to alert you to that as well. This is a profoundly important topic. The crew members, who are still waiting for justice, have waged a heroic (but to date unsuccessful) campaign to bring this attack before the American people.

One of the most important articles is the report by the independent commission chaired by former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Thomas Moorer (among its illustrious panel members was Marine General Ray Davis, the nation's highest-ranking Medal of Honor recipient at the time). This report provides evidence that the facts on this attack were covered up at the order of Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and President Lyndon Baines Johnson. Normally, such evidence -- from such a distinguished body -- would result in Congressional hearings.

In this case, the media buried it -- even the Washington Post failed to report on this historic event on Capitol Hill. While AP had an excellent news report on the panel's briefing in the Rayburn House Office Building, this highly newsworthy story, which should have been headlined around the country, was buried in its wire offerings of the day and very few news media picked it up or gave it the prominence it deserved.

The crew has supplied a detailed legal brief on the this incident to the Secretary of the Army, the agency required by law to investigate war crimes against American citizens. Again, this has not been reported to the American public.

Such neglect by the American media is unconscionable.

Rachel Corrie

While growing numbers of people are deeply saddened at Rachel Corrie's death, numerous people throughout the US know little or nothing about it. In addition, as with the USS Liberty, there has been a concerted effort to falsify the circumstances and to blame the victim. We have done our best to supply thorough information on this tragedy.

Nonviolence Movement of Palestinians and Israelis

In addition to a vigorous Palestinian nonviolence movement, there are growing numbers of Israeli groups also working toward peace. These Palestinian and Israeli peace workers and human rights advocates deserve to have their principled and often courageous activities reported to Americans, yet this rarely occurs. (See our AP report for evidence.) We report on these in our list of the wide variety of groups working toward peace and justice.

A Sept. 21 My Word column criticized a billboard by our organization announcing: "$10 million a day to Israel? Our money is needed in America!" ("Anti-Israel billboards mislead drivers").

The commentary was by Hava L. Holzhauer, the Florida regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, which frequently expends some of its nearly $100 million endowment advocating for Israel.

U.S. politicians from both parties have given more of our money to Israel than to any other nation, thanks to the multibillion-dollar pro-Israel lobby. In fact, the U.S. historically has given more aid to Israel than to all of sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America combined.

And U.S. aid to Israel is given at the beginning of the year. Since our government operates at a deficit, we borrow this money and then pay interest on it long after it has been transferred to Israel's account at the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank. This is an interest-bearing account, so Israel gains still more money, while Americans lose it.

The ADL claims that Israel and the U.S. have shared values. This is inaccurate. The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." Israel, conversely, was created to be the "Jewish state," and systematically discriminates against Christians and Muslims. A few years ago, an Israeli mayor rounded up New Testaments and had them burned.

While a few Christians and Muslims, about 25 percent of the Israeli population, are in the Israeli parliament, they make up only 10 percent of its members. By contrast, Jewish-Americans, more than 2 percent of the U.S. population, make up 12 percent of the Senate and a third of the U.S. Supreme Court (which contains no Protestant Christian justices).

The ADL claims that Israel is a strategic asset. In reality, Israel is a tiny nation with few natural resources; it has long been subsidized by Americans; it has spied on us; and it has stolen U.S. technology. Israel attacked a U.S. Navy ship in 1967, killing 34 and injuring 175. Israel then paid $6 million compensation for a ship worth $40 million. The survivors of the attack are calling for a public investigation.

Surveys in 2014 show the majority of Americans oppose taking sides on Israel-Palestine. This means ending our massive aid to Israel. It's time for politicians to listen.

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Alison Weir is president of the Council for the National Interest, executive director of If Americans Knew and author of a book on U.S.-Israel history.

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I believe in the free marketplace of ideas and sometimes post articles by other individuals and organizations when I feel they contain information or analyses that could be interesting for people to read and ponder. Such posting does not necessarily denote agreement with the article and does not necessarily denote agreement or endorsement of the author and other articles he or she may have written in the past or may write in the future.